Generation Found
by Last.one.02
Summary: Takes place months after Lost Generation. During his Auror training Harry decided to visit Hogwarts, specifically Hermione. Two friends share their insecurities and feelings, and realize how they can be found. H/Hr, no character bashing, appearances of DA members supposedly in Hogwarts after the battle.


Harry Potter strolled through the muddy pathway from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts' grounds. The mud splashed under his boots and the rain fell on his stubborn black hair and glasses. He cursed the weather loudly, but there was no-one around to hear his curse. The towers of the castle appeared from the distance and Harry could finally see his destination. The wind blew and cold breeze caressed Harry's legs through his blue jeans and gray hooded sweatshirt. He shivered once more, and crossed the meadow, so he finally reached the Quidditch pitch.

He saw Madame Hooch teach some first year students flying, some of them were in the air, but most had trouble getting off the ground. He smiled at the memory of his first flying lesson, which ended with him joining the Gryffindor Quiddich team.

Soaked and muddy, he entered Hogwarts. The castle looked pretty much the same as the last time he had been there late last summer. Some lost young students ran past him as he walked through the familiar hallways, passed the same portraits and the doors which led to the Great Hall.

He wandered on the ground floor, not certain where to head next, when professor McGonagall rushed past him.

"Good day, mister Potter," she said.

"Professor," Harry replied.

McGonagall stopped abruptly and turned to Harry.

"Potter?" she asked.

"Yes, professor," he replied.

"What are you doing here?" McGonagall asked and looked at Harry over her square spectacles. "You're not here on official business, are you?" she asked fearfully.

"No, the ministry didn't send me," Harry said quickly.

"Oh," McGonagall said with relief. There had been an incident right after the start of new schoolyear, when Aurors flooded the Hogwarts because they received threat of previously unknown Death Eater on the grounds. Though came out the information was false, it brought fear to most school habitants. "Then what brings you here?" she asked.

"Um… Visiting a friend," Harry mumbled, somehow McGonagall had a way of making him still feel uncomfortable and small.

"Is she expecting you?" McGonagall asked.

Harry shook his head nervously. "Actually I was wondering where could I find…" Harry started, but McGonagall raised her hand and Harry stopped.

"Follow me," she asked and started walking towards the Transfiguration classrooms with Harry following her.

"I never said, who I was looking for," Harry said while they were midway to their destination.

"Isn't it obvious?" McGonagall asked. "I can't imagine you appearing here unexpectedly without any warning for anyone other than miss Granger," she explained.

Harry smiled, yeah, he had decided to use his free time to visit Hermione.

"We didn't manage to find a new transfiguration teacher, so I have to continue teaching as well as managing the school. Miss Granger's return was a blessing, I left seventh year students transforming themselves so they wouldn't be recognizable. Miss Granger managed to disguise herself on the first attempt without doing any damage, so I left her in charge while I took care of some Hogwarts' business," McGonagall explained.

Harry chuckled, he remembered how she transformed Ron, when they broke into Gringotts. "She is good in transfiguration," Harry agreed.

"But, why are you not in your Auror training?" McGonagall asked.

"We were practicing muggle behavior today, but since I grew up with muggles, I know how to use electricity and melt into the mass," Harry explained.

McGonagall accepted his explanation and they continued walking in silence.

Finally, they reached transfiguration classroom and Harry entered behind McGonagall. The room was filled with students standing in front of mirror and changing their appearance. Harry noticed a ginger haired witch at the far corner and he knew it was Ginny even if she didn't resemble the Ginny he knew.

He heard her first than saw, but he'd recognize Hermione's voice from anywhere. Harry turned to his left, to see a tall black haired wizard trying to repair green eyebrows of another student. He neared them, but she didn't notice his arrival.

"Maybe you should try fixing yourself, you usually look much nicer," Harry commented.

Hermione stopped mid-sentence and looked the source of the voice, finally seeing Harry there.

"Harry," she exclaimed and smiled.

Harry already anticipated Hermione's next move and welcomed her with open arms, when she threw herself at him to give him one of her usual bone crushing hugs.

"I had to see you," he whispered.

"I missed you too," she replied.

He released Hermione and took a good look at her. Her brown hair and eyebrows were black, her nose was much smaller and her lips were thicker.

"I like regular Hermione better," he commented after inspecting her appearance.

"Me too," she agreed. "Give me a moment, you can talk to Ginny, she's…" Hermione started.

"I know where she is, but I don't think it's the best idea right now," Harry interrupted.

Hermione nodded. "I'll be back in a moment," she said.

Hermione left and went to talk with professor McGonagall, who then got the attention of the class and made her a perfect example once again, then turned back to teaching other students.

Hermione instead grabbed her bag and books from her table and joined Harry.

"I'm free," Hermione announced.

"So can you be regular Hermione again?" Harry asked.

Hermione smiled and cast a silent spell to restore her regular appearance – her nose and lips took their regular shape, her hair and eyebrows turned back into brown and she looked like the Hermione Harry had known for years.

Harry held the door open for her and then the left the classroom. He caught Ginny's eyes on the doorway, but then he closed the door and left.

"I see they made you a head girl," Harry commented, when he noticed her badge.

"Yeah, McGonagall notified me a few days before I got back," Hermione said.

"Couldn't imagine anyone else in that role actually," Harry said.

"Thanks," Hermione said and blushed slightly. "What brings you here?" she asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "You, I guess," he replied.

"You have more lessons today?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Let's go to Gryffindor's tower, I wanna drop off my things," Hermione said.

Harry nod and they headed towards the tower.

"How's your auror training going?" she asked.

Harry smiled. "I'm one of the best. Kingsley let me go early today, because I could act like a muggle with no problems," he boasted.

"I'd be disappointed if you failed. How are Ron and Neville doing?" she asked.

"Both are good. We went out just a few nights before, when Luna decided to stop writing with Neville. He was heartbroken," Harry said.

"I heard. You know, Luna is a good friend and I need new best friends since neither you nor Ron came back," Hermione said with slight blame.

"Well, maybe this year we won't drag you into trouble," Harry joked.

Hermione agreed.

They reached the Fat Lady's portrait. "Felix felicis," Hermione said and the secret door to the common room opened.

The common room was empty, so Harry took a seat on the couch by the fireplace, while Hermione went to the girls' dormitory, where Harry was not allowed as he found out the hard way with Ron.

She reappeared moments later and took a seat beside Harry.

"It's weird not seeing you every day," Harry confessed.

"It's odd without you and Ronald here too," Hermione added.

"Have you spoken to Ron at all?" Harry asked.

"I've sent him a few letters, but he hasn't replied. Is he pissed at you too?" she asked.

"At first, but he seems to be okay with me. Though he always shuts down and leaves, when someone mentions you," Harry said.

Hermione winced, the guilt for handling the situation as she did was hitting her hard.

"I guess it wasn't meant to be," she decided bravely. After all she had spent years pining for him and she did kiss him during the Final Battle, knowing she might be dead at any moment and at that moment all she wanted to do was kiss Ron.

"I bet there are more than enough guys throwing themselves at you," Harry commented.

Hermione smiled. "I usually just avoid them," she said. "All they wanna know is how the war changed me, about the scars and the fears I had. Things I want to forget seem to fascinate them."

Harry looked at the time and noticed that the classes were soon ending and the common room would be crowded once again.

"How about we go somewhere else? I really don't fancy being asked questions and treated like a hero," Harry said nervously.

"Yeah, sure," she agreed. "I could use the escape as well."

They got up and left the Gryffindor tower altogether, they were passed by younger students, who returned to the common room, but luckily none of them took any notice of Harry.

"Where should we go?" Hermione asked.

"I'd say taking a walk on the grounds is out of question," Harry replied, noting the pouring rain and muddy ground outside.

"How about we go to Astronomy tower, it's usually rather quiet," Hermione suggested.

Harry nodded and they changed their direction to get to the Astronomy tower. They climbed the stairs until they finally reached the top tower, where they could look the Hogwarts' grounds and the surrounding terrain.

"It used to be locked, but after reconstructions, they must have forgotten to make sure students don't come here. I don't know if others know it's open," Hermione spoke.

"You come here often," Harry asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" she asked curiously.

"Marauder's map. I guess it's a habit to spend my nights watching it," Harry explained, he did his best to sound casual and not creepy.

"Of course," Hermione mumbled, of course she remembered the nights Harry sat in tent or keeping watch with the map in front of him, looking for Ginny there. It was only logical he'd continue the habit, and perhaps occasionally came across her name as well.

"Your fame is now also on me. Mostly people want to know about you, Ron and Neville, about me and Ginny," Hermione said. "What is Harry Potter doing next? Is his scar still hurting? Does he have nightmares? Are you dating famous Harry Potter? Why is Harry Potter hiding from the media? Is Longbottom really an Auror? How Weasleys cope with the death of Fred?" Hermione mimicked the questions she was asked almost daily.

"Ginny gets them too, but she usually just walks away," Hermione added.

"Is she mad at me?" Harry asked bravely.

Hermione leaned on the railing and looked around, her eyes settling on the lake.

"I don't think so. She's annoyed, but not mad. I think she gets why you had to keep your distance and didn't contact her. Though I'm not entirely sure if she still wants to marry you," Hermione spoke.

"Good, it's better than I expected," he said with relief.

Harry stood beside Hermione, he too looked over the grounds he knew so well. The wind messed with their hair and the rain poured down on them, so Harry looked for safety behind Hermione, where he chose to stay. His hands were on the railing on both sides of her, in a way offering her protection like he had for years, especially the last year. Though the protection was no longer needed, at least not in Hogwarts.

"There's something you should know about Ginny," Hermione said heavily.

"Is she okay?" Harry asked with concern.

"She's not hurt or anything, but she has been spending a lot time around Dean. I don't know if they're just friends or dating or something, but they are rather close. Seems like they're spending almost every free moment together," Hermione said.

"Oh," Harry said in surprise. "I guess I couldn't ask her to wait forever for me."

"Do you feel the same about her? Do you still wanna marry her?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "You? Do you still wanna marry Ron?" he asked.

Hermione took a deep breath, "I'm not sure. I don't know," she replied. "Feels like I don't know anything these days. I know nothing, I feel nothing and only my books make any kind of sense."

Harry smiled. He'd yet to wait the day, when books leave Hermione and her brilliant mind gives in.

The wind and rain became rather unpleasant, so Harry pulled Hermione with him and sat on the stairs, away from the wind and the rain.

"You remember when we came back here in the summer, and you told that you felt numb and you were scared that it was gonna be like that forever?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded.

"Do you still feel like that? Like you can't feel anything?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded again.

"I feel that too. I don't know what I wanna to or who I wanna be with, most of the time I just feel nothing," he confessed.

She leaned heavily onto him.

"The society expects us to build everything up again. They expect us to be the new leaders of this world. They want us to guide them towards better future without Voldemort, his reign of terror and constant fear. We are the face of the future. They expect greatness from us," Harry rambled.

"And yet we're barely standing on our feet, the deaths of our friends, teachers and mentors are still too fresh. I don't think we're fit to lead anything or anyone right now," Hermione continued.

"Agreed," Harry replied.

"You know a week or so ago we were having a blast in DADA, when we got to practice dueling. At first nobody wanted to duel me, but then one Ravenclaw boy stepped up, I can't even remember his name. He lifted his wand and I wordlessly unarmed him before he could get his spell out. He was unarmed, yet I still cast a body binding curse on him and probably would have continued attack if the clapping hadn't pulled my attention. It's odd, since I never thought myself as violent," Hermione spoke. "The strangest thing was that it felt so normal to duel with somebody, as common as it is to watch Quiddich or read a book."

"I guess it seems normal after all we've seen in the past years," Harry suggested.

"Maybe," Hermione replied.

She exhaled heavily and placed her head on his shoulder. Harry wrapped his arm around her and kept her against him.

"The war marked us, some of our scars are visible, some hidden. I think they should forgive us for not being who they want us to be," Hermione said.

Subconsciously she touched the inner side of her left arm and winced. She could trace the letters there through her school uniform, how many nights she had stayed up, running her fingers over the scar Bellatrix gave her months before. She knew the shape of every letter by heart and every now and then the scar would remind her who she is and the fight she still might have waiting for her, and all because of her blood status. Bellatrix's blade had been enchanted and the scar would remain there as fresh and bright as it was on the day she got it.

Harry covered her hand with his.

"You'll learn to live with it. Everybody probably knew my scar much better than me, yet now they don't look for it anymore. You'll get used to it, everything will fade eventually," he said with surprising confidence. All he knew for sure was that sometimes he still heard Hermione screaming, he saw Bellatrix torture her with crucio and carving "mudblood" to her hand. He saw it in his dreams, yet every time he couldn't help her, he tried, but he couldn't get to her, so all he could do was hear her scream. But that's something Hermione didn't need to know.

"Besides you are the brightest witch of our age, your blood status shouldn't matter in this. It's all about who we become, not who we're born. And you are one of the heroes of our time," he continued.

"You know I never wanted this," Hermione said.

"You think I did?" Harry asked rhetorically.

Hermione shook her head against his shoulder.

"Feels like you're the only one who understands, the only one I can talk to without being judged or worshipped and I don't have to worry about you leaking anything to media," Harry confessed.

"I feel honored," she replied.

"I mean Ron lost his brother, I can't talk to him about it. Neville just lost the girl he likes and nearly lost his grandmother, plus he has the duty of taking care his parents, yet all they do is give him candy wrappers," Harry said.

"And Ginny lost his brother and Luna spent months in the basement of Malfoy Manor, who knows what they did to her," Hermione added.

"At least we have each other," Harry concluded.

"Yeah, we have each other," she agreed.

Harry relaxed and held onto Hermione's light form, her oddly familiar weight against him and just like the past summer he felt good with having her beside him. He breathed in her perfume, he became fascinated with during their time on the run.

"To imagine all it took was an encounter with a troll in the girl's bathroom," Harry mused.

Hermione laughed. "Feels like it was another lifetime," she said.

"Guess it was. We were just kids back then, starting to learn magic and before we could get ourselves into troubles," Harry thought back.

"Before you got me into trouble," Hermione corrected.

"I believe it was you, who brew the polyjuice potion," Harry pointed out. "And sent us back in time to save Sirius. Also it was you, who sent Umbridge to the Forbidden Forest, not to mention Dumbledore's Army."

"That's my point. Before you and Ron I would have never done anything like that," Hermione made her point.

"You regret it?" Harry asked with slight hesitation, not sure if he wanted to hear her answer, fearing she might give him the one he doesn't want to hear.

"No, I don't," she said easily.

Harry felt himself let out a breath he had been holding.

"Considering everything we've been through, I don't regret becoming friends with you and all the adventures, near-death experiences and losses that came with. I can't regret my part in destroying Voldemort, however small it was," she explained.

"You've been the brain of every mission we had, without you we might not have made it, you played integral part every year, every time I became face-to-face with him. I made it because of you," Harry praised the brightest witch he knew.

"You know in the Ministry, when Voldemort possessed me and put those pictures of deaths in my head, I was ready to give up, but do you know what got him out?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No," she voiced her answer, though her voice was rather weak.

"You," Harry said simply. "I thought about you. Of everything he showed me, I suddenly remembered all the times you nearly knocked me flat with your hugs, the first time you kissed my cheek and then everything came back – you, all the Weasleys, Neville, Luna, friendship, love and that emotion was just too much for him. You saved me," he explained.

"That makes us even then?" she asked. "You saved me when you became my friend."

He just held her tighter.

"Of everything that's lost, I'm glad I found you," Harry confessed.

"I'm glad I have you too," she replied.

She lifted her head and looked at the surroundings. Harry was alert to her movements and his fingers gripped around his wand.

"The rain is stopping," she said.

"For now," Harry added.

They shared a knowing look, a smile and then before neither of them realized, their faces are close together and their lips are pressed tight together. They weren't sure who started it, probably both, maybe neither, but it no longer mattered.

Their lips were moving together like they had been doing that for years, like they had practiced every movement, the way their tongues danced together in perfect harmony. His fingers released his wand and his hands moved gently on her body, resting on her back, pulling her closer and keeping her there, while she had one hand on his chest and the other in his messy jet black hair.

It ended as unexpectedly as it started. Their lips parted, but they stayed close.

"That was…" he started.

"…unexpected," she finished.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"And everything is much more complicated now," she said and turned away in frustration, which Harry had seen so many times before, when she had problems with her homework or they were in serious trouble.

Harry placed her hand below her chin and lifted it, so she'd look at him properly. He shook his head with certainty. "It's not complicated yet, right now everything is easy," he said quietly.

Hermione looked up at him, the assurance and calmness in his green eyes relaxed her too, even though it was momentary and he couldn't bring her to utter relaxation.

"Right now it's just you and me. Nobody else is here with us, so it's as easy as it could be," Harry said.

Hermione nodded, then did something Harry couldn't have anticipated and threw her arms around his neck, buried her face in his shoulder and pressed herself tightly against him, as much as the awkward angle allowed her to. Harry wrapped his arms around her light figure and held her against him, a rare smile on his lips. His smile grew as he coaxed her closer and she came willingly until she was sitting in his lap. He held Hermione tightly against him, his nose in her curly hair, which fell just a bit over her shoulders. Her perfume was in his nostrils, his hands around her, Hermione holding tightly into him – he thought this couldn't get much better.

His smile fell unexpectedly, when he felt wet tears on his neck and quiet sobs close to his ears.

Harry froze and for a moment he wanted to run, escape from the place, which just moments ago resembled perfection.

"Hermione," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Hermione clutched his sweatshirt on his back and continued sobbing.

"Am I really that bad of a kisser?" he asked and tried to enlighten the mood, as he remembered his first kiss with Cho, when the girl also burst into tears.

"No," she whispered quickly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Hermione replied with long pause, the only sound came from rare raindrops falling on the roof and stairs, sometimes mixing with Hermione's sobs, but the sobs got rarer and rarer until faded completely and Harry was positive she had stopped crying.

"Hermione?" he asked again.

She let go of his hoody and pulled away just enough to look at him. They were face to face, she still in his lap, her arms around his neck and his on her back. Hermione moved her hand to wipe away the fallen tears from her cheeks, but he took over and ran his thumb over her cheeks and jaw to remove the remaining tears.

"It's so wrong. We can't do this to Ron, he's your best friend. What about Ginny and all the other Weasleys? We can't do this to them after we were so kindly welcomed into the family," Hermione said quietly.

"What about me and you?" Harry answered with a question.

"What about us?" she asked.

Harry moved his hands on her back, his motives clear – if by the looks of it, he was never going to hold her again, he wanted to know just how good it feels to run his hands on her back, feel her comfortable weight on him and look into those brown orbs he adored so much.

"We can't be living for everybody else, what about what you want, what I want? We defeated Voldemort, we did what was expected from me, now we are free do to whatever we want," Harry argued.

"Harry, you've wanted Ginny for years. What changed?" Hermione asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

She toyed with his messy hair, her other hand loosely on his neck. "You've wanted Ginny since we were fifth year. Now you finally have a chance to be with her, yet you suddenly don't want her anymore. Is it really all about the chase with you guys?" she elaborated.

"It's not chase," Harry said quickly.

"But something must've changed?" she demanded.

Harry took a deep breath, stilled his hands on her back and leaned forward to kiss her again. To his surprise, Hermione didn't pull away, but she wasn't kissing him back with much eagerness either. He didn't want to pull away, yet he knew it was the right thing to do. So with a heavy heart he broke the contact and put some distance between their lips.

"The war," he gave her an answer. The way she tilted her head and raised her eyebrows, told him that she was not satisfied with his explanation and he had to do better.

"You know everything has changed and they expect so much from me. In September, after you came back here, I felt empty, but I figured after I start my auror training, then everything would fall back in place. It didn't. I felt empty and all I could think about were those months in the Grimmauld place with you, those months after Ron left and we were alone in the forest. At some point I realized that everything seems right with you, like all the worries and tragedies fall away, when you're around," he explained.

"I won't be your rebound from the war," she said firmly.

"You won't be," he said quickly.

"You can't be sure of that. Everything you said, the timing. Everything. It has war written all over it," Hermione argued.

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again – he had seemingly no more arguments left. Hermione took it as a sign and climbed off his lap, to which Harry protested loudly, and settled in sitting beside Harry.

"It's not war. It's just being away from you without knowing when I could see you again, when I realized I need you. I don't ever wanna be without you. When I'm with you I don't feel numb and lost, I feel good, like it's where I'm supposed to be. I don't have another way to explain it," he tried.

"After all you're the one who has always stood by me, never doubted me, when everybody – even Ron – was against me. You've never chased the fame. With you I've always been just Harry not the Boy-Who-Lived. I guess I had to stay away from you to realize how much you mean to me," he continued.

"Harry…" Hermione said.

"And for the record kissing you is the most exciting thing I've ever done. It's something I'd fancy doing for the rest of my life without it ever changing," he added.

Hermione smiled and leaned into him. Her hands went back around his neck and she pressed her lips against him. This time she was more active participant, at least at the beginning, until Harry opened his lips and battled for domination with her, his body itching to be closer to her, to feel more of her, to have her only for himself.

As suddenly as it started, it ended with Hermione being first to pull away.

"I know," she said simply.

"You do? You feel the same?" he asked with a wide smile full of hope.

Hermione nodded, then smiled. "Being close to you, waking up next to you, kissing you – it feels strangely right. Feels like I'm no longer lost," she said.

"You're not. Not with me. I promise I will never let you get lost as long as I am with you," he said seriously.

"And I'll do the same for you. With me you're always found," she replied.

Harry had her arms around her once again and in a swift movement she was in his lap straddling him, and she was glad she chose to wear pants and not skirt that day. His lips found hers again as his hands moved on her back, at last settling on her firm bottom, squeezing it lightly. She pulled away from the kiss instantly.

Harry did her best to give her an innocent look, but failed miserably. To his great surprise, Hermione burst into laughter, which caused him to laugh as well.

"I think we should take it slow, Potter," Hermione said once the laughter had stopped.

"Sure, miss Granger," Harry replied with a grin.

Harry moved his hands to her back rather neutrally and pulled her close again, so the lion inside him could roar once again at the success of snogging Hermione Granger. Hermione didn't offer him any resistance, she moved back enthusiastically and kissed The-Boy-Who-Lived.

Neither of them kept track of time as they sat on the stairs at the Astronomy tower and snogged in good old fashion. At times they just held onto each other and shared a long knowing looks, while the others one or the other whispered something sweet to each other and then of course there was a lot of kissing.

In all the years they've spent together, they've learned a lot about each other, yet there was still some things to share while they sat on the stairs. For example, Harry never know how Hermione likes to hold her hand lightly on the back of his head and she likes to have his hands tight around her, how sweet her lips taste and how good she feels overall. Hermione never realized how fragile Harry was and how it was up to her to take the lead and encourage him on, she never realized how he could make one feel loved and protected at the same time with simply wrapping his arms around her and of course how good of a kisser he really was.

If they had known all that years prior, it wouldn't have taken over seven years for this to finally happen.

Their moment was interrupted, when someone cleared her throat a few steps below them.

It was like a sudden curse hit them, when their hands fell back to their sides and Hermione jumped – with Harry helpfully pushing her – back to the stairs so they were sitting at respectable distance from each other, both nervous and full of fear like almost any time they were caught doing something illegal.

Minerva McGonagall watched the scene in front of her with a grin, which quickly faded, when Hermione and Harry finished. Hermione had her eyes focused on the floor, her face bright red and Harry looked past the headmistress with equally red face.

"Mister Potter and miss Granger," McGonagall said firmly.

"Yes?" Hermione asked fearfully. She really didn't want to be the cause for points being taken from Gryffindor, or getting detention which she had managed to avoid since the start of the schoolyear.

"Mister Potter, you've been here for mere hours and you already have Miss Granger in a place where no student should be at this hour," McGonagall started.

"Professor…" Harry started out of habit, but before he could correct himself, McGonagall had started speaking again.

"And, miss Granger, I expected more from you. You are the head girl of Hogwarts which means that you should be an example to all the other students in this building. Snogging a boy in the astronomy tower is definitely not the way to do that," she continued.

Hermione wrapped her arms around herself to make herself smaller and continued watching the floor, while trying to avoid the firm, strict look of the headmistress.

"Professor, the door was unlocked, we just wanted to get away from all the attention. It was my fault entirely," Harry tried to protect Hermione once he realized McGonagall couldn't punish him.

"Really?" McGonagall asked.

Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"If it's all your fault, then why miss Granger has spent an awful lot time here over the past months?" McGonagall asked, she was slowly losing the battle with herself to stay serious and continue giving them firm face, when in fact she was not mad.

"I found the door open and I've come here to have some time alone. Apparently it's the only place, where I'm not stalked or bombarded with questions," Hermione explained.

McGonagall smiled for a quick moment, which was just short enough to leave both teenagers wondering if it had been there in the first place. "The tower is open for that sole reason, miss Granger. In fact I checked the rules and this tower is not forbidden for students, so technically you haven't broken any rules," she said calmly.

Hermione let out a heavy breath and calmed visibly.

"Actually I was looking for Potter. I was wondering if you'd be staying for dinner, because it's served," McGonagall asked calmly, her voice almost warm and motherly.

"I'd love to stay," Harry said with enthusiasm.

"Good," McGonagall replied.

He looked over both Harry and Hermione, their messy hair and the way Hermione's uniform was slightly out of place.

"I'd suggest you make yourself presentable and then come down," she said and left.

"Professor," Hemione called after the older woman.

"Yes?" McGonagall asked and turned around.

"Could you not share what you just saw here?" Hermione asked nervously.

McGonagall smiled slightly. "You two are not the first nor I'm afraid the last youngsters I caught snogging. I promised myself long time ago not to get caught in student's personal lives."

She turned around and descended the stairs until her footsteps faded and silence fell over the tower once more.

Harry burst into laughter once they were alone, but Hermione didn't share the fun, so instead she hit Harry in the chest with the back of her hand.

"It's not funny," she scolded.

"It somewhat is," he replied.

"No," Hermione said firmly.

Harry stopped laughing and stood up. He held his hand out, which Hermione took and helped her up too. He tried to fix her bushy hair to the best of his abilities, but gave up as her hair seemed to fall naturally into messy curls and he couldn't remember if all of that was his doing. Hermione fixed her attire at the same time, tucked in her white shirt and fixed her yellow-red tie, Harry pulled her sweater down, so it ended at the hem of her pants.

"You look like a head girl again," he commented.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Her hands went to Harry's hair and tried to fix it.

"Trust me, they still look like mess," Harry replied to her attempt.

"Right," Hermione said.

"But you can try of course," Harry suggested.

Hermione shook her head and removed her hands from his hair.

"So, dinner?" he asked.

She nodded.

Hermione walked down the stairs a step ahead of Harry, but he reached her halfway and grabbed her hand. To his great surprise Hermione rejected his wish and removed her hand from his.

"Hermione?" he asked.

"I thought we agreed not to tell people," she said.

"We're alone," Harry argued.

"But soon we won't be," Hermione said. "Let's just act like we always have."

"Fine," Harry resigned.

Hermione looked over at his pouting face and stopped suddenly, Harry followed her lead and stood on a step below her. Hermione walked to him, placed her hands on his sides and covered his lips with hers. She kept her eyes partially opened as he backed him to the wall, stepped down to be at the same level with him and kissed him with passion.

Once Harry recovered from the sudden, yet pleasurable attack, he enveloped her in his arms and enjoyed having Hermione in complete domination. As the lion roared again, he changed the play in a swift movement, when he took power and Hermione found her back pressed against the wall with Harry having the power position.

After the kiss ended, they stayed close, still wrapped around each other.

"You good now?" she asked with a sly grin.

"For now," he said.

Both of them smiled, then continued walking down the staircase in unison, their bodies close, but not touching.

They didn't see any students on their way to the great hall.

"Let's do this," she said and smiled.

"Bring it on," he replied.

Hermione playfully shoved him with her shoulder, but he responded by simply wrapping his arm around her shoulders in friendly manner, just like he had done many times in the past years.

"We can have dinner and perhaps after we can answer all the questions people have," Harry said.

Side-by-side they walked towards the Gryffindor table and took their seats on the less crowded edge, where Ginny, Seamus, Dean, Parvati Patil and Dennis Creevey were sitting.

"Former D.A. usually sits together on this side," Hermione explained as she led Harry to her usual spot.

Thankfully people were busy eating, so Harry's arrival went largely unnoticed, though they could see some students turning their heads and some people whispering while pointing at the duo.

Hermione took her usual seat beside Parvati and Harry sat beside her, on the opposite side were Ginny, Seamus and Dean. At the arrival, the group looked up, greeted Hermione, but once they noticed Harry and remembered Harry's not supposed to be there, looked at him with curiosity.

"Hello," Harry said to ease the awkwardness.

"Are you back at Hogwarts now?" Seamus asked.

"No, just visiting," Harry replied.

He and Hermione started filling their plates with food while the questions came at their way.

"So how's Auror training?" Colin asked eagerly.

"It's hard, but it's also really interesting. I love it there. We've learned all kind of methods to disguise one's self and how to blend into different environments. I've learned a lot there," Harry spoke with enthusiasm.

"How's Neville handling it?" Dean asked with a smile, he remembered all too well how clumsy Neville used to be.

"He's doing great, really great. Actually he got better mark as I did in sneaking," Harry spoke.

He shifted somewhat and placed his left hand on Hermione's thigh under the table. The movement went unnoticed by everybody except Hermione. She moved her own hand to his and Harry thought that she was going to push it away, but instead covered his with hers and held it.

"How's Ron doing?" Ginny asked.

"He's also doing good. Though he still has some troubles with muggles and probably has to study their behavior for quite some time to pass this exam. Otherwise he's good," Harry said, but avoided eye contact with Ginny, who did the same.

"How are things here?" Harry asked the group.

"You mean Hermione left some subjects untouched?" Dean asked.

"Well, she didn't say anything about divination," Harry replied with a smile.

Everybody laughed, while Hermione rolled her eyes and sent looks to everybody.

"Trelawney is really disturbed by the events and how her predictions came true in most horrific ways. But we're learning how to read the stars and combine their position with crystal ball. It's really fascinating," Parvati spoke.

"I believe it is," Harry said politely even though he didn't believe in the art of divination, despite those prophecies she made and which came true.

"How's Quiddich?" Harry asked.

"We have a decent team with a real chance to beat Slytherin," Ginny boasted.

"Ginny's our new captain," Dean added.

"Congrats," Harry said with genuine happiness.

"We have a lot of new blood in the team, but we need some practice and then we should be ready," Ginny said.

"We'll beat them," Seamus said confidently.

"Of course," Dean added.

"Is there anything else except Quiddich for you?" Hermione asked and shook her head in disapproval.

The team members laughed.

"Quiddich is to us, what books are to you," Harry explained.

Hermione nodded, but chose to continue eating, while she pressed her nails into Harry's hand, but only for a moment.

Seamus, Dean, Ginny and Harry continued discussing Quiddich tactics and new squad members with Colin listening with his mouth open, while Hermione made small talk with Parvati's new crush. It was like any other day at school, normal and easy.

At some point they came around to discussing the new monument in the courtyard for all the fallen. It was a glorious phoenix coming back to life from the ashes. Underneath was the date of the final battle and the names of all the fallen, on the other side the plate had names and dates of all the others who fell in the Second Wizarding War starting with Cedric Diggory.

They continued laughing and making fun of each other just like they had before, they shared the latest gossip, complained about their homework and discussed the past events. When Dean talked about their charms lesson, where Seamus had managed to create fireworks, Harry finally caught Ginny's eyes.

He smiled at her and Ginny returned it. He tried to asses her emotions and how angry she was at him, but to his great surprise, the redhead smiled brightly, then covered Dean's hand with hers and nodded slightly. The movement went unnoticed by the others, but Harry knew Ginny was silently telling him, that she's okay and she's moving on, so he could do the same. On the other side of the table Harry gained enough confidence and decided that he could deal with one angry Hermione later, so he removed his hand from her thigh and wrapped it around Hermione, who barely registered the movement. She leaned slightly onto Harry and continued explaining Dean how the spell should have worked and what he did wrong.

Ginny looked over her friends and unexpectedly felt happiness over Harry and Hermione, she had known for a long time that they shared something special and they deserved everything. She felt happy and for a moment it felt like the war was not in her mind anymore.

Though they barely noticed it and payed no attention to people staring at them, people pointing their fingers and whispering. All of those in war got used to the whispers rather quickly in school and Harry had been talked about ever since he was an infant. They didn't notice teachers looking over at Harry with pride and happiness in their eyes, but McGonagall kept on looking at the group and smiled at what she had seen before, happy to see Harry and Hermione in better place than they were at the end of summer, when they visited.

McGonagall smiled once again at the thought of normalcy returning. Barely six months before the hall had been in rubble, when Voldemort finally fell. Whole castle was destroyed in the final battle, but the castle had been restored, Death Eaters captured, students were back and once again Potter was the center of attention – like nothing had happened last year. She noticed Harry and Hermione sitting close together, surrounded by friends, all of those, who fought in the battle and survived, she remembered how fragile, lost and empty they had been at the beginning of schoolyear.

The lost souls seemed to be found.

At last some amount of normalcy was back in Hogwarts.


End file.
